Lovesick
by elrics artemis
Summary: Botan and Kurama attempt to act on their feelings. One-shot.


So this is just another one-shot. This time it's a Kurama/Botan pairing. Enjoy!!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the little guys in my head that make me type.

**Lovesick**

Botan was a lovesick girl.

That was the only thing that could explain how her life had suddenly changed to the unordered mess it was, as opposed to the simple, cheerful one it had been.

It was the only explanation for why she never seemed to get enough air.

It was the cause of the butterflies in her stomach.

It was why she was now the clumsiest person in the office, rather than the most graceful.

And it was obviously the reason why she was, at the moment, standing, soaked, in front of a certain redhead's office.

Or perhaps, more accurately, _he_ was the reason she was standing, soaked, in front of _his_ office door.

Botan stared despondently at what would have been a barrier between her and her boss had he been in there.

Except that he wasn't actually in the office. And that was the trouble.

She'd spent weeks, _weeks_, working up the courage to finally tell her boss that she was in love with him and he was _gone_. Botan would never be able to tell him now; it had taken too much out of her to try this time.

Maybe, she mused, it was for the best?

After all, Botan didn't know if he felt the same about her. Sometimes she suspected he did. At the very least, she thought he liked her more than her fellow female coworkers. It was in the little things he did that she drew her conclusions. Like how he seemed to laugh just a little bit more when she was around. Or how he seemed a little more cheerful when she walked into his office after a meeting. How he appeared to go out of his way to make her smile.

But, she sighed, it could all just be wishful thinking.

It was a known fact within and without the office that her boss was one of finest. He was kind, polite, and patient without being a doormat. Somehow, he always seemed to convince people to do things his way without them realizing. He managed to win every businessman he came across over to his side while maintaining feelings of goodwill.

But it wasn't just his charismatic nature that had captured Botan's attention. He was intelligent, funny, and easy-going, with looks that would put any man (or woman) to shame.

'Perfect' was Shuichi Minamono's middle name.

He was so perfect, in fact, that he had his very own fan club consisting of lovesick girls very much like Botan (though she was not in the club herself).

Kurama, as he insisted on being called, could have his pick of any woman he wanted. In all probability, he only had to snap his fingers and an entire _line_ of willing women would appear.

Suddenly Botan felt unsure of herself.

And when she felt unsure, she became angry.

It would be just typical for her perfect man to come along and pick the women who were completely undeserving of his affection. None of these women prepared his coffee exactly the way he liked it every morning: with entirely too much sugar and a teaspoon of cream. They didn't bring an extra lunch everyday to make sure that when he stayed in the office over break he could eat a proper meal. And who was it that convinced Kurama to go home early and rest, because he had head cold, by threatening never to bring him cupcakes again? Not his fangirls!

It was Botan who stayed late helping him finish his paperwork.

It was Botan who noticed that behind his calm and pleasant mask was a deep sadness because of his mother's failing health.

It was Botan who _loved_ him.

And it was this love that had stopped her in her tracks, in the rain, halfway to her car, and turned her around. This love had forced her to march right back into her building, up the elevator, and to the office door where she now stood.

Love was a very powerful motivator.

But it was all for _nothing._

Because Botan knew that if she didn't tell Kurama how she felt soon, she would never have the guts to do it in the future.

Why was this the one time he decided not to hang around the office for a few extra minutes?

Disheartened and full of an anger directed at a certain red-haired man, Botan turned around--

And ran into a _very_ firm chest.

* * *

Botan was an interesting female.

Shuichi 'Kurama' Minamono often thought this about the blue-haired female that swept into his life.

Unlike all the other women in Kurama's life, barring his mother and Keiko, Yusuke's fiancé, Botan seemed almost completely immune to his charms.

She was the only woman who managed to badger him into doing things like eating lunch and going home early when he was sick. Even when he turned the flirting on full blast, enough to turn any woman (or man) into a puddle of goo, she still managed to browbeat him into taking care of himself.

Botan came into his life like a tornado; with a steel glare and iron fist she had re-ordered his life right before his eyes and regardless of his input (read: protests). And she'd done it all with a cheerful smile.

Kurama loved her smile.

Recently he found himself going to a lot of trouble to see her smile. He liked the way it lit up her whole face; the way it wasn't forced or faked. It wasn't suggestive and it didn't promise anything. It was simply the way Botan expressed how happy she was.

And Kurama really wanted to make her happy.

He realized that when he hadn't been paying attention, he'd fallen in love with her. It was an odd, wonderful, sensation this love; and one he distinctly associated with Botan. There was a half painful, half happy, pressure in his chest whenever she was around; and though it caused a ridiculous amount of stress and anxiety when she wasn't there, Kurama was loathe to give it up.

Even so, Kurama felt a little unnerved about their relationship (or, rather, lack thereof). He was, after all, her boss. And he didn't want her think he was taking advantage of their respective positions. Besides, even if none of that bothered her, her behavior made him wonder if she would welcome his advances. It was entirely probable that she would beat him into a bloody pulp should he decide to make a move.

For the first time in his life, Kurama was not completely certain of his ability to woo a woman.

Still, that didn't stop his decision to try.

Today he'd woken up determined to ask his (as he now thought of her) blue-haired beauty out on a date. But somewhere between breakfast and the five meetings he had he'd lost track of her. She would materialize at his side when he needed coffee or some important bit of information and then disappear before he had a chance to say anything more than, "Will—,".

Then, at the end of the day, when he should have had all the time in the world to ask her out, he was somehow landed with twenty pounds of paperwork, filing, and a million other things that demanded his undivided attention. And when finally looked up, it was much too late to do anything and she looked as tired as he felt. He didn't want her to agree to a date out of sheer weariness so, his heart heavy, he decided to postpone his question until tomorrow.

Together they cleaned the wreck his office had become before Botan said a weary goodnight.

It was as he was putting the rest of his migraine-inducing paperwork into his briefcase that he realized she had left her umbrella. It was raining foxes outside; Botan would be soaked to the skin before she even made it to her car. And what if she caught a cold? Kurama frowned; if she did then she wouldn't be in the office for at least a couple of days. He could already imagine the chaos that would ensue without her there.

Besides, he would miss her.

He was already walking hurriedly out of the office, umbrella in hand, by the time the thought occurred to him.

It was after standing in the parking lot for five minutes that Kurama started to get worried. There were only two cars still there — his, parked directly in front of the building, and hers, parked a good distance away (for what reason he didn't know; she was often there before he was and he was the earliest to arrive). But there was no sign of Botan. Any stores or shops she might have gone to were long since closed, and from what he could see, all the windows in the building were dark.

What could have happened to her?

Turning, Kurama made his way back into the building. He would call her from inside; there was better reception. And if she didn't answer….

Kurama couldn't finish the thought.

As it turned out, he would not have to. On the lobby floor there were wet footprints coming from outside and going to the elevator next to the one he had just vacated. Kurama was filled with a sudden relief; surely it was Botan? Probably they had just missed each other going in and out.

Much more at ease, Kurama took the elevator back to his office floor where he did, indeed, see a very wet Botan standing in front of his door.

And, like he often did, thought she was very interesting girl. At the moment, she was muttering to herself things that were so low they escaped even his acute hearing. Standing beside her (she must have been in too deep in thought to notice him) he could just make out her facial expressions. She went from happy to nervous to sad to angry in a matter of seconds. Kurama wondered what kind of thoughts she having to cause such a myriad of emotion.

In a sudden, unexpected motion, Botan turned and ran straight into his chest.

"What--?" was all she managed to exclaim before gravity tried to pull her down.

Kurama, using reflexes honed by years of stopping fights between Yusuke and Kuwabara, caught her.

Surprised violet eyes met equally surprised, though much more amused, emerald ones.

"Kurama!" she gasped.

Raising an eyebrow, Kurama pulled her up. But he didn't let her go. "Yes Botan?"

"I was—I thought—you were gone?" Botan was blushing furiously.

"You forgot your umbrella." Kurama said, by way of an explanation.

"Oh, well, silly me!" she replied, giving him a nervous laugh and not meeting his eyes. "I'll, uh, just be going now!" Botan tried to step out of his embrace, but his arms only tightened around her.

"Kurama?" she squeaked. Her face became, if possible, even more red as she raised her eyes to look at him.

And the look he gave her seemed altogether too predatory to belong to her beloved Kurama's face. Botan had the sudden feeling that she was caught in a fox's trap.

She wondered if he heard what she had been saying to herself. Had she talked about her love for him? She couldn't remember.

Kurama, for his part, was no longer having any doubts about his ability to capture the blue-haired woman's heart. If the rather adorable blush staining her cheeks was anything to go by, then she was already his.

Giving her a smile that did nothing to calm her nerves, he said, "I have been wondering for quite some time, Botan, if you would accompany me to dinner?"

Stunned, Botan could only stare. Kurama was asking her out on a date?

"I must confess, I have never seen you at a loss for words before."

And that remark snapped Botan out of her daze. Jabbing him in the chest with her finger, Botan growled, "Don't start thinking you can just turn on the charm whenever you want and get your way."

"Of course I wouldn't dream of doing such a thing." He replied with a smile. "I would, however, like you know that you look beautiful tonight."

"I'm all wet." She pointed out, fighting back a pleased smile.

"And it doesn't detract from your looks one bit. But perhaps it would be prudent to get you into something warmer?"

Grateful, Botan nodded. Though, truth be told, she was becoming quite warm just being in Kurama's arms. Pulling his jacket off, Kurama placed it over Botan's shoulders, wrapping it around her securely.

"Thank you." She said. And on an impulse, stood on her tiptoes to aim a kiss at his cheek.

She missed and got his lips instead.

For a split second Botan froze, afraid he might think she was being too bold. Instead he pressed his lips more firmly against hers, pulling her body against his.

It was like all the air had gone from her lungs; she felt light-headed and fuzzy and warm and dizzy. Kind of upside down and right side up at the same time.

He tasted sweet.

After what felt like a minute and forever, he pulled away, his breathing only slightly less labored then hers. "We should go," he whispered, "It's late. And you haven't eaten."

Botan looked at him pointedly. "But _somebody_ has been sneaking candy again, I see."

Rather than answer her accusation, Kurama took her hand in his and, with a content smile, led her out of the office.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, so it was after I read this again that I realized that Botan never confessed her feelings to Kurama. (And technically, she never said okay to the date either) But it kind of worked out anyway since it would have been really random of her to just go up to him and say, "Kurama, I love you!"

And this story came out much longer than I originally intended. I guess this just goes to show how much power the little guys in my head have over my fingers….

Still, I'll probably write a sequel to this one just to give myself some piece of mind.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed. Review please!!!


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